Monday, August 13, 2012

Little Patchwork Pillowcase and a Giveaway

When Lindsey asked me to be part of the Zakka Along, I basically begged her to let me do this project. It has my kids written all over it—they love cute little animals, and they especially love cute little animals that come with their own homes, beds, and/or carrying cases. So, a cute little animal that can be stowed in its own pocket on a cute little pillow? Three-year-old-girl heaven, I'm telling you.

This project is from the book Zakka Style, compiled by Rashida Coleman-Hale, so you'll need the book to make it. Lindsey of LR Stitched has spent the last several months running a sew-along of all the projects in the book, and this post is part of that series. Click here to catch up on all the posts.

This pillowcase might be more involved than the average Zakka Style project because of the diamond patchwork, but even so, most sewists should be able to make it in a solid evening or two. I used Essex Linen in Putty by Robert Kaufman for the body of my pillowcase, winter-white felted wool for the bear, and an assortment of pink and green scraps for the patchwork.

The first thing to tackle: The diamonds, which are used for the patchwork pocket, the bear's tummy, and the patchwork piping. The book provides a template for cutting out the diamonds, but that is a lot of template cutting. I found it much easier to cut the diamonds from strips. Here's how I did it:

2. Line up the 60-degree mark on your ruler with the bottom of the strip and trim off the end of the strip on an angle.

3. Measure 1 7/8" over and cut another angled line using the 60-degree mark on your ruler. Ta-da, you have a correctly-sized diamond.

The most challenging part of this project for me was the piping on the pillowcase—I've never made piping before, so this was all new to me. The book says to use 1/4" piping cord, but that seemed awfully chunky to me for such a little pillow, so I went with 1/8". Even the 1/8" cord seems wide to me, but that might be because I have no idea how to make piping, so I didn't get the fabric casing very tight around the cord. LOL.

The bear was very easy to make and turned out so cute. You'll want to have a chopstick on hand for turning and for jamming stuffing into those little legs and ears.

As you can see, my daughter really loves this bear—she named him "Barry." (Well, I think she meant "Beary," but we won't quibble over spelling.) All in all, this was such a great project! And based on my daughter's very positive feedback, I recommend it as a gift for the little girl (or boy!) in your life. : )

As part of the Zakka Sew Along, I'm giving away some variety packs of lovely Aurifil thread, which you probably already know is the bomb. Three winners will get an Aurifil thread pack, and one lucky winner will get an Aurifil thread pack and an Aurifil color card! Just leave a comment on this post for a chance to win.

And finally, don't forget to check out Lindsey's post for her Zakka Along giveaway—this week, it's a fat-quarter bundle of the Le Femme line by Robert Kaufman. Plus, link up your own Little Patchwork Pillowcase for a chance to win even more prizes. Enjoy your pillowcase!

I love to make piping and this project is super cute! My little g.grand sweetie is going to love this (make now/give later as she is just 1 y.o.). That thread is absolutely the BEST!!!! Makes FMQ so wonderful and the colors are gorgeous....awesome give-away and start to the week!!! Hugs, Doreen

Adorable! Your little girl and the project! Can't wait to try this! And when making piping, the Piping Hot binding tool really helps! That, and a zipper foot. Unfortunately, I loaned mine out and have never seen it again!

Oh wow, your pillow case looks great, and your bear is so cute! I should have come here first, I made mine last week. I did spend ages cutting out the diamonds and my bear turned out rather... strange!

Gorgeous. My first attempt at those diamonds was.. well they didn't turn out like they should. I ended up making one with a nice hearts print. Now after reading your review I'm going to give it another try :) thank you for your tips and the chance to win.

Gorgeous. My first attempt at those diamonds was.. well they didn't turn out like they should. I ended up making one with a nice hearts print. Now after reading your review I'm going to give it another try :) thank you for your tips and the chance to win.

Gorgeous. My first attempt at those diamonds was.. well they didn't turn out like they should. I ended up making one with a nice hearts print. Now after reading your review I'm going to give it another try :) thank you for your tips and the chance to win.

I love the diamonds! And, yes, this is little girl heaven :) I would love to make this with a guinea pig in the pocket (you can find Flat Bonnie on Etsy - like that) to give to my guinea pig-loving friend for her upcoming birthday :) Thanks for the post and the giveaway!

I have a niece that would love one of these cushions, having the little bear makes it so adorable. I would love. love, love to win some Aurifil, having hear dso much about it I would love to try it. If I won I could pretend it was my birthday.ks(dot)eyles(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk

I know you recommend it for a cute little girl like the one you have, but I have a grandson that will love this too. I hope my new Essex Linen gets here in time. I have some $20.00 yd linen and I love him, but I am saving that up. This has been fun, now that I have caught up.

Your pillow carrier and bear are adorable, and look so cuddly. They'd be nice to sew for grandchildren too. As for Aurifil thread, you're right, "It's the bomb." Still my all-time favorite. Thanks for the chance to add spools to my thread stash.

This is way cute. I had picked this as one of the projects in the book that I wanted to make. Unfortunately, I have a ton of stuff from the last couple of hops that I am working on and I just know if I start this now it won't get finished. I am hoping to make one for my granddaughter for Christmas. I also want to try the Aurifil thread but my local shop doesn't carry it and I haven't wanted to order it due to shipping costs. Hope I win.

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